Night-train operators
The companies that run Europe’s sleeper trains — who they are, where they go, and how their tickets, passes and cabins work.
ÖBB Nightjet is Austrian Federal Railways' night-train brand and Europe's largest sleeper network, connecting Austria with Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Benelux, Poland, Hungary and Croatia. It expanded rapidly after Deutsche Bahn withdrew from the night-train business in December 2016, taking over several former DB routes. Since 2023 it has been rolling out new-generation carriages with mini-cabins and ensuite showers on its core long-haul lines.
European Sleeper is an independent Belgian-Dutch night-train start-up that launched its first Brussels–Amsterdam–Berlin–Prague route in May 2023, filling a gap left after most international sleepers were cut in the 2000s-2010s. It is now expanding into new corridors, including Paris (March 2026) and, planned, Milan (September 2026).
Intercités de Nuit is SNCF's domestic French night-train network, radiating from Paris Austerlitz to the Alps, Pyrenees and Mediterranean coast. The network was state-subsidised from 2017 after near-total closure and has since kept legacy routes running, including seasonal winter ski trains.
Intercity Notte is Trenitalia's domestic overnight network linking Rome and Milan with Sicily and the south, including the unique train-ferry crossing of the Strait of Messina, the only place in Europe where passenger carriages are loaded onto a ship. It offers four comfort tiers from budget seats to private ensuite compartments.
SJ is Sweden's state-owned railway operator, running domestic night trains from Stockholm to northern Sweden (Narvik, Luleå/Umeå) and the ski resort of Åre, plus a historic Stockholm–Berlin sleeper via the Øresund Bridge. Its Lapland/Norrland night services were disrupted through 2026 by a contested tender, before a new SJ contract secured them through 2028.
PKP Intercity is Poland's state long-distance rail operator, running an extensive domestic TLK night-train network plus new international sleeper links launched in 2025-2026, including the summer-only 'Adriatic Express' to Croatia/Slovenia and the now year-round 'Baltic Express' to Prague.
Caledonian Sleeper runs Britain's only long-distance sleeper service, linking London Euston with Scotland on two routes: the Highlander (Fort William, Inverness, Aberdeen) and the Lowlander (Glasgow, Edinburgh). It has been publicly owned by the Scottish Government since June 2023, and added a Birmingham International stop in January 2026.
České dráhy is the Czech state railway operator, running or co-operating around nine year-round and two seasonal international night-train routes from Prague, including a EuroNight to Zurich and new 2025-launched links toward the Ukrainian border and the Polish Baltic coast.
Snälltåget is a Swedish open-access operator (part of Transdev) best known for its domestic Stockholm–Malmö service and its seasonal Berlin–Stockholm night train via Copenhagen and the Øresund Bridge. It expanded its Berlin service in 2026 to help cover the gap left by SJ's withdrawal from that corridor.
Vy (formerly NSB, rebranded in 2019) is Norway's principal state-owned rail operator. It runs the country's most celebrated sleeper service, the Bergensbanen night train between Oslo and Bergen, and is introducing new Stadler-built sleeper trains from 2026.
SJ Nord is the Norwegian long-distance brand of Sweden's SJ (operating as SJ Norge), running the Dovrebanen (Oslo–Trondheim) and Nordlandsbanen (Trondheim–Bodø) night trains since winning the government concession that began in 2019-2020.
RegioJet is a private Czech open-access operator founded by Radim Jančura in 2011, competing with state railways on domestic and international corridors. Each summer it runs seasonal overnight trains from Prague to the Croatian coast (Zagreb, Rijeka and Split) in partnership with Croatian Railways (HŽPP).
MÁV is Hungary's state railway company, jointly operating international EuroNight services from Budapest including the daily 'Ister' sleeper to Bucharest (run with Romania's CFR) and partner routes toward Vienna, Munich and Warsaw.
Trenhotel was Renfe's premium night-train brand, which at its peak linked Madrid and Barcelona overnight with Lisbon, Paris, Zurich and Milan. All international and most domestic Trenhotel services were wound down through the 2010s, and the last survivor, the Madrid-Lisbon 'Lusitania', was suspended in March 2020 and never restored.